Plane crashes today

PARIS: France's interior minister said investigators are looking into all possible causes of Tuesday's Germanwings crash in the French Alps, but he appeared to rule out the likelihood of a terrorist attack."The debris from the plane is spread over one and a half hectares, which is a significant area because the shock was significant but it shows that the plane did not appear to have exploded," Bernard Cazeneuve told French radio station RTL.The theory of a terrorist attack is "not the theory we're focusing on," Cazeneuve said.Nevertheless, the minister added cautiously that "all theories must be carefully examined until we have the results of the enquiry."He said the black box that had been recovered from the crash site, which records the sounds and conversations in the cockpit, had been damaged and would need to be repaired "in the coming hours." "The enquiry must begin today," stressed Cazeneuve.French rescuers resumed the search Wednesday for the remains of the 150 people, including … [Read more...] about A320 crash probe not focusing on terrorism: French minister

Thousands of rescuers were searching for bodies in the Black Sea as Russia marked a day of mourning Monday following the crash of a Syria-bound military plane carrying 92 people.The Tu-154 jet, whose passengers included more than 60 members of the internationally-renowned Red Army Choir who were heading to entertain Russian troops in Syria for the New Year, went down off the resort city of Sochi shortly after take-off Sunday.The first 10 bodies have been flown in to the capital Moscow amid a national outpouring of grief.Investigators have yet to confirm the cause of the crash, but Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told a televised briefing Monday that authorities do not believe the plane was taken out by a terrorist attack."There could be various causes -- they are being analyzed by specialists, experts, the Investigative Committee," he said, adding that active theories ranged from human error to a problem with the fuel."Currently the main versions do not include an act of terror," he … [Read more...] about Massive search for Russia plane crash bodies

Hearses carrying the coffins with the remains of the victims of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 plane crash leave Eindhoven military airport, July 26, 2014. (AFP/Vincent Jannink) >> Putin and Australia's Abbott discuss MH17 probe THE HAGUE: Forensic experts have identified the first of 298 people killed when flight MH17 which was shot down over Ukraine last week, the Dutch government said on Saturday (July 26). "Today the first victim of the flight MH17 disaster was identified," the justice ministry said in a statement. "It's a Dutch citizen and the victim's family and mayor of where they lived have been informed." The ministry did not publicly release the identity of the victim. The Dutch are in charge of identifying all the victims from the July 17 disaster over rebel-held Ukraine, 193 of whom were Dutch. "The team of 200 specialists is busy with the identification process, but warns that it can take months for all the victims to be identified," the statement said. Some bodies … [Read more...] about First MH17 crash victim identified: official

Rescuers on Saturday reached a remote jungle site on Indonesia's Sumatra island where an airplane crashed two days earlier, officials said, amid hopes of survivors among the 18 people on board.After two days of efforts, when winds, clouds and rain forced helicopters back several times and ground teams struggled with "impossible" terrain, an eight-strong search and rescue party was finally able to fly to the location.Four of them were lowered to the crash site but the fate of the four crew and 14 passengers, who include four children, remained unclear as radio communication with personnel on the ground was lost.The plane was caught by the forest canopy as it crashed, leaving it lying on the jungle floor with the ends of its wings torn off and its cockpit badly damaged, but the cabin section largely intact.Hopes of finding survivors were given a boost on Friday when the mother of one of the passengers said her daughter had phoned her, and a door on the aircraft had visibly been … [Read more...] about Rescuers reach Indonesia plane crash site

JUBA — At least 36 people were killed on Wednesday when a plane crashed shortly after taking off from South Sudan's capital Juba, rescue workers said. Police and rescue workers pulled bodies of men, women and children out of the wreckage of the Russian-built Antonov An-12 cargo plane, which smashed into a farming community on an island on the White Nile river, seconds after taking off."So far 36 bodies have been collected and brought to hospitals," South Sudan Red Cross official Majju Hillary said, adding that all the victims were on board the ill-fated aircraft.Two survivors were pulled out of the twisted metal hulk of the plane but one of those later died, with a young boy the only survivor, the Red Cross said, adding the number of dead may still rise."We can't assess this is the final toll, as some debris is too heavy to be lifted and needs some heavy machinery," Hillary added.The five-member Armenian crew were all killed, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a … [Read more...] about At least 36 dead in S.Sudan air crash

Four people aboard a small plane were killed after the plane crashed on a busy stretch of an Atlanta highway this morning, Captain Eric Jackson of the Dekalb County Fire Rescue Department said. PHOTO: Police look toward the wreckage of a plane crash on Interstate 285, Friday, May 8, 2015, in Doraville, Ga. Spokesman Capt. Eric Jackson of the DeKalb County Fire Department told reporters that four were onboard, and all died. The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, a Piper PA-32, had just departed Atlanta's DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. The pilot "reported an issue on take-off," according to ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta.The plane crashed up against the median of the busy Interstate-285 and caught fire.A man at the scene, Don McGee, described the crash as "like a bomb being dropped," WSB reported.Gerald Smith told WSB he was driving a tractor trailer when he was almost hit by the plane."It was flying very low. It wasn't higher than the top of my truck," … [Read more...] about Four Killed Aboard Plane That Crashed on Atlanta Highway

A Germanwings Airbus A320 passenger plane carrying 148 people crashed today in mountainous southeastern France, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters. — Photo CNN PARIS — A passenger jet carrying 148 people crashed today in the French Alps as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, authorities said. As search-and-rescue teams raced to the remote region, France's president warned that no survivors were expected.Eric Ciotti, the head of the regional council in southeast France, said the crash site was at Meolans-Revels, near the popular ski resort of Pra Loup.The Germanwings Airbus A320 plane sent out a distress signal at 10:45 am local time then crashed in a mountainous zone at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (6,550 feet), said Pierre-Henry Brandet, the French Interior Ministry spokesman.Brandet told BFM television that he expected "an extremely long and extremely difficult" search and rescue operation because of the area's remoteness.Capt. Benoit … [Read more...] about Jet crashes in Alps, 148 on board; ‘no survivors’ expected

The leaders of rivals China andTaiwan expressed condolences on Thursday for victims of a TransAsiaAirways turboprop plane that crashed during a thunderstorm the previousday killing 48 people including two French nationals. Rescue personnel survey the wreckage of TransAsia Airways flight GE222 on Taiwan's offshore island of Penghu, July 23, 2014. The plane, a70-seat ATR 72, crashed near the runway while trying to land on thesmall island of Penghu, west of Taiwan island, with 54 passengers andfour crew on board. Ten people were injured and taken to hospital. "Today is a very sad day in the history of Taiwan aviation," Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said in a statement. "All of Taiwan is grieving." China's president, Xi Jinping, who is on a Latin America tour, felt"deeply grieved" after learning the tragedy has caused heavy casualties,the mainland's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in astatement, according to the Xinhua news agency. The mainland andTaiwan have been … [Read more...] about Leaders of Taiwan, China offer condolences for 48 dead in plane crash

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia – Recovery teams expanded their search in the Java Sea on Monday as they raced to find bodies and wreckage from AirAsia Flight 8501, which they fear have drifted in rough weather that has hampered operations over the past week.As the massive relief operation entered its ninth day, officials were hopeful for a break in poor conditions to send divers down to the area where large parts of the crashed Airbus A320-200 have been found.Only 34 bodies have so far been recovered from the disaster scene. A total of 162 people were onboard when the plane crashed into the sea during on a storm on December 28, en route from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore."Hopefully the weather is good today so that the ROVs (remotely-operated underwater vehicles) and other instruments can be used and our divers can go to the seabed again," search and rescue official S B Supriyadi said.He said he was hopeful they would find "all the parts" of the aircraft on Monday and … [Read more...] about Indonesia expands search for bodies from AirAsia crash

A member of a charity group, who was invited by Malaysia Airlines to comfort the relatives of passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, speaks to journalists at a hotel in Beijing March 9, 2014. — Photo Reuters REUTERS — Malaysia Airlines said it was "fearing the worst" on Sunday for a plane carrying 239 people that went missing more than 24 hours ago, as the government said it was investigating four passengers who may have held false identity documents.There were no reports of bad weather and no sign of why Flight MH370 would have vanished from radar screens off the coast of Vietnam about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing early on Saturday morning.European officials said it appeared two people on board were using stolen passports and Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein said authorities were also checking the identities of two other passengers."All the four names are with me," said Hishamuddin, who is also defense … [Read more...] about Malaysia signals missing plane has crashed; probes false IDs